Thursday, April 21, 2011

Chicken 65 -- near perrfect

While there was much furor going over nothingand people were discussing gender issues and such, I had a very basic question to ask.

Why paint a child's nail ? Kohl rimmed eyes and kala tikka, I can understand. They are not makeup. There is scientific evidence that they ward off evil eyes.Or, maybe not. But neon pink nail paint ? What the good will it do ?

I have chipped nail polish on my toe nails from six months ago. The last time I managed to go to a nail salon, there was a 7 year old sitting besides me getting a pedicure. I cringed. Not because my toes could scar a 7 year old (ok, that is a possibility) but the fresh beautiful feet of a seven year old does not need pedicure.Period.

My 7 year old has had nail paint on her toes twice. Once she was at some friend's place and beyond my control, the second time she begged that I let her put on the only shade of nail paint I have. I let her because I had to finish some very important work and I knew if I let her do it she won't ask again. The nail paint has almost dried out and she has never asked since.

If anyone has to make a statement why nail paint, I say.

Before we delve into the recipe for Chicken 65 let me tell you Chicken 65 is NOT my birthright. My Ma never made it, nor did her mother or her mother's mother. Ok you get the drift, right ? My Ma-in-law never made it either. No one in my family has ever made Chicken 65 unless I go back five generations ago, at which point I have no clue. But by the theory of extrapolation I can safely say, even they did not make Chicken 65.

Heck, I did not even taste Chicken 65 until I moved to Bengaluru in my twenties. My first Chicken 65 was at this place called Krishna Chinnai in Koramangala. They had red plastic tables, blue or white or maybe even red plastic chairs, potted palms whose fronds bristled your bare arms resting on the greasy red tables in anticipation of the food.. We always went there for dinner, after dark, so beyond this I did not see.The food as I remember was hot, spicy searing hot andhra biryani, fiery hot chicken 65 and everything else with loads of kari patta and chili. That inspired us to go back there more often.

Here in the east coast of US, in the suburbs of NYC, where the assimilation of all Indian cultures is much more than I have ever seen in a single Indian state, Chicken 65 is always on the menu of an Andhra restaurant and on the charts in most Indian restaurants. The chicken looks red, as if the gulal from last Holi hasn't rubbed off them. I feel queasy. Sometimes they are double or triple fried in the stale hot oil of the frier and I have second thoughts on my order. And yet I cannot get over those spicy hot morsels of Chicken.

4 years back inspired by fellow bloggers I made my first chicken 65. It was delicious. Over the years though I have refurbished my Chicken 65 recipe, bits from here, a little from there and slowly the dish started coming out as I expected it to. I shunned the red food color and the MSG(ajina moto), I adjusted the chilli when the kids wanted their share. Finally I can say I have a Chicken 65 that is almost perfect. People like it, the kids love their version, we love it. What more can I ask for ?

Marinate chicken pieces in 2 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste(I made a fresh paste with 4 fat cloves of garlic and 1" ginger.), Adding 4-5 green chilli made into paste adds extra zing if you no kids are involved,a little soy sauce(maybe 1/4 tsp),salt,1 tsp of Black pepper powder, Kashmiri Mirch Powder (for color and use according to taste. You can add Red chili Powder instead)
for about an hourNote: If you can marinade for a longer time it is better. For a big batch, I try to marinate overnight, this gives the chicken a lot of flavor.

When you are ready to cook, to the marinated chicken pieces add the following1 egg3 tsp of Corn Flour
Mix well

Heat enough oil for frying in a fry pan

Fry the chicken pieces till they are a nice shade of brown on both sides. The chicken will be cooked on frying.

In a bowl add 1/4 cup of thick yogurt2 tsp of Hot Chilli-Garlic Sauce(I usethis)
and mix wellNote: If you do not have the Hot Sauce, add 1/4th tsp of Garam Masala, 1 tsp of Maggi Hot and Sweet Ketchup, little salt to the yogurt and mix

Take the pan off the heat and add the yogurt + hot sauce

Add the fried chicken pieces and toss the chicken pieces in the sauce and bring the pan back to heat.

Continue tossing till the yogurt+sauce gets dry and clings to the chicken pieces. Adjust for salt.

Serve immediately with some raw chopped onions and wedges of lime.

Note: If cooking for a party, you can fry the chicken pieces in batches and store overnight. Before serving, do the tossing in yogurt + hot sauce thingy

35 comments:

I am with you. Our babies may look like dolls and its tempting to dress them up like dolls, but no need to go overboard. I've seen little girls getting their eyebrows done at eight. Its a bit too much, too early :)Your Chicken 65 looks wonderful. Thanks a million for sharing. This is one of the recipes that I can never get quite right. Maybe, I'll follow your recipe and give it another try. Is curry leaf the same as bay leaf? We have something called 'Tej pata, is that the same thing?

nail paint thing is well said, in India though you see so many versions of so many things that at one point you will loose your track on right or wrong! about chicken 65 it looks yummy, by the way do you know the about origin of chicken 65? Must discovered be to impress some British vice roy and stuff

Oh, my bad ! Here I have gone through half my life thinking curry leaves and bay leafs are one and the same, food illiterate that I am ! Well, I googled it and found some pics, so now I know what to look for. Everybody assures me its readily available in Indian and Chinese groceries. But thanks so much for offering to send me some; you do show a lot of commitment to the followers of your blog ! THANK YOU !

In these country, every single details are noticed and interpreted! I thought it is a marketing tactic with a pink paint :)My mom never cooked chicken- because she simply hated! I learn the Chick 65 with one of my aunty! ur version is totally different and looks delicious!

That looks absolutely fantastic, but since we are vegetarians, I am going to try this with paneer :-)

As for kids and pedicure, I just feel sad. Kids need no make-up, no jewellery and certainly no manicure/pedicure. They are so divinely beautiful, first thing in the morning. Why do their parents allow them to do this!

You are right. Though I do not have a daughter and always I wish had one to share my stuff in my dressing table...not that I have loads of make up things,yet I wouldn't like any little angel with nail enamels and lipsticks or any other facial getups. Chicken ..love it, looks perfect and yummy!!

I tried your new version of chicken 65 last night.It was a glorious success. The hindsight is i got to taste just a wee bit as my 10 yr old on gobbled up the rest. I note to incraese the quantity next time. Thank you so much for the recipe. In fact had my maid andson not seenme cook the stuff, i could easily have passed it off as a product of a posh restaurant. Thank you once again.

Ah, when little girls like to play grown ups or vice versa. Always makes for interesting discussions. I am totally with you on this, and yes, I too own one nail color, from six years ago. As to your Chicken 65, first Manisha with her chicken tikka and now you. Between the two of you, I have to make some chiken bites even if it mean scrubbing and cleaning the sink and dishes with bleach afterwards.

i asked a chef in a 5 star as to why is called chichken 65,he told me that some 65 spices were added in this dish,for the nawabs etc........dont know how far true .......but kept wondering what wud be thhose 65 spices...i know only some 10-12

As for the nail paint I couldnt agree more . The same goes for dressing up little girls provocatively - check this link out on CNN http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/19/granderson.children.dress/index.html

Thanks for inputs, it was really nice to hear everyone's point of view. Now, horror of horrors, my 7 year old has been invited to a class mate's b'day party at a place where guess what, they do mani-pedi-makeovers !!!! I had no clue about the place until I looked up.Should we drop in, wish the b'day child and make our excuses to be back home OR should I let the child be at the party but refuse the services ?I am in a quandary

Sandeepa - I just realised I have been reading your blog for over 4 years now :) And the old Chicken 65 was the first recipe I tried off your blog. I went to that post now and found my comment from back then, and your reply!

Much amazed at an associated article with this great site ..'how to clean a Bong?'.Though it does not take away anything from the merits of the ever-delectable 'shukto' recipe and fab pics herein.Kaushik

Well she did go to the party and stayed. Thankfully it was not like what i was thinking. You could choose different themes and this particular b'day girl's mom chose stuff like -- t-shirt painting, some games and a hair do thing in which they did up hair but very basic stuff like binuni and top knot etc.. So it was actually ok :)I must admit that since this post I have opened up more and do allow nail paints on the toes for my 8 yr. old on occasions :-D I think I have realized I need to pick the right battles.

Hi Sandeepadi, I am huge fan or yours and an ardent follower of your blog. I made this Chicekn65 dish verbatim from your blog and it was a huge success. Actually it got finished before i got a chance to taste it......so a big THANK YOU to you!!!!

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Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine